European stocks close lower as Israel-Iran conflict dominates focus

European markets closed lower Thursday as investors reacted to the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed down by 0.8%, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. The French CAC 40 index slumped 1.3% while Germany’s DAX was off by 1.1%.

By sector, travel and leisure stocks were the biggest losers, declining 2.4%. Oil and gas shares were the standout gainers, climbing 0.7% on the back of rising crude prices.

CNBC’s Jenni Reid reflects on this week’s Paris Air Show, taking a look at the key themes and the one major player that kept a lower profile due to turmoil at its business — Boeing.

“Muted” was the word of the week, while defense made up nearly half of the show’s content this year amid roiling Middle East conflict, the Russia-Ukraine war and an upcoming NATO summit at which higher national security spending will be high on the agenda.

Airbus racked up nearly $21 billion in orders as of Thursday morning, per a Reuters calculation.